The 2026 FIDE Candidates Tournament concluded in Paphos, Cyprus, crowning two new World Championship challengers: GM Javokhir Sindarov in the Open section and GM Vaishali Rameshbabu in the Women's section.
The 20-year-old Uzbek grandmaster went through the entire 14-round double round-robin unbeaten, clinching outright first with a round to spare after drawing GM Anish Giri in Round 13. His final score of 10/14 (six wins, eight draws) is the highest in the modern eight-player Candidates format used since 2013, surpassing Ian Nepomniachtchi's 9.5/14 from Madrid 2022. Sindarov finished 1.5 points clear of runner-up Giri, beating elite rivals Hikaru Nakamura and Fabiano Caruana along the way.
In the Women's section, Vaishali Rameshbabu sealed the title in the final round, becoming the first Indian woman to qualify for a Women's World Championship match. She will challenge reigning champion Ju Wenjun later this year.
Sindarov's win sets up a World Championship match against Gukesh Dommaraju — both players are 20 years old, making it the youngest combined age of any world title match in history. The match is slated for November–December 2026.